Overcoming the stigma of a Bronx location, his financial inexperience and the ongoing challenge of finding skilled managers, Mr. Garcia’s catering and event–planning business has become the city’s pre–eminent caterer for Hispanic cuisine, music and decor, be it South American, Latin American, Caribbean Latin or Spanish.

“We didn’t think of anyone else,” says a spokesman for Goya Foods Inc., which joined with the Yankees in coming up with the idea of a Latin food stand. “A lot of restaurants do catering, but they don’t do off–premises, and he can do the whole gamut of Latin cuisine.”

What sets the company apart, say its clients, are its attention to detail, customer service and event authenticity. Customers include Bronx Lebanon Hospital, Philip Morris and KPMG.

“The company is very reliable and professional, providing lots of personal attention,” says Jose Velazquez, founder and president of Manhattan–headquartered Tri–Line Contracting Corp., which has been tapping Salsa Caterers’ event–planning services for its 150–person picnic and 300–person Christmas party.

The company has been lifted by the increasing recognition of Latino culture and the political importance of the Latino community. Salsa Caterers was tapped to cater the posh opening–night gathering for the Picasso exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a party for the William J. Clinton Foundation.

Salsa Caterers owes its gigs to word–of–mouth and Mr. Garcia’s tenacious, backslapping networking skills. He gets his energy from a steady diet of sales and management courses, tapes and books.

An incident early in his career shows the extent to which he’s willing to go for a customer.

Mr. Garcia launched the business in 1990 with just $6,000 in savings in a 4,000–square–foot site. The day after a customer asked if his location was available for parties, Mr. Garcia promptly entered the on–site catering business, placing colored film paper on fluorescent bulbs for mood lighting.

Since then, Mr. Garcia has invested more than $250,000 in his Bathgate headquarters—now totaling 10,400 square feet.